What to Expect from Cheap or Free Web hosting

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by Freddie Nunez

Everybody likes to get things for free but we all know that nothing is really free and there are benefits that you get when you pay for something that you cannot expect if you have gotten something for free. This article will let you know what to expect from cheap or free web hosting. It discusses the difference between free and inexpensive web hosts. It is always good to know what to expect from cheap or free web hosting. Hopefully this article will help you decide whether to opt for a free or cheap web host when looking to house your personal website.

Fees for a personal website can range anywhere from free to 2-25 dollars monthly. You may be wondering why you would pay $25 per month when you could have a site for free. But the reality of the situation is that free sites are never really free. Most web hosts that offer free sites do this because they plan on obtaining revenue in another way: by plastering your personal websites with ads that blink, or move across your screen, or pop up whenever someone clicks on a link. If your personal website caters to employers viewing your work this can make you look very unprofessional.

Furthermore, free web hosts generally place extreme restrictions on how much they allow you to upload on your site. If you plan on placing many photos, music or video clips on your site you will find that you do not have nearly enough space. Restrictions are also placed on your bandwidth, which means that if you have a lot of people visiting your site like friends and family or perspective employers, you may find that your site will be shut down for exceeding its bandwidth limitations. This means that you will have to start over from scratch and with a new domain name and address.

Quote of the Day

Science is a dynamic undertaking directed to lowering the degree of the empiricism involved in solving problems; or, if you prefer, science is a process of fabricating a web of interconnected concepts and conceptual schemes arising from experiments and observations and fruitful of further experiments and observations.

—James Conant (1893–1978)

When it comes to free sites, you get what you pay for and since you paid nothing, expect as much in return. The few dollars a month that you will have to part with will more than make up for the hassle you will avoid. There are also some benefits to enjoy. With a cheap host you can choose your own domain name, which adds legitimacy to the content found within. With free hosts, they pick the name for you. You are also allowed control over your site. With a free host, design and advertising content are chosen for you. With a paid host, you have SEO advantages. This means that you can create links to your site in other places without worrying that those links will dead end when you have to change domain names because your free web host went out of business or you changed to a paid host because you were dissatisfied with their service.

Another benefit to a paid site is that you get better service. Free hosts do not feel accountable to sites that aren't generating revenue to them. When problems occur on with a free web host you are generally directed to a Frequently Asked Questions page or an email address and who knows how often that is checked. A paid site will have an accessible customer service line, which features real live people to talk to. This way you are guaranteed that your problems will be handled in a timely fashion. Web hosts who receive money from hosting your site want to retain your business by making sure that you are a happy customer. If you got your website for free, good luck getting technical support in a reasonable amount of time (if help comes at all).

Hopefully this information has given you a good idea of what to expect from cheap or free web hosting. If you are getting your own site for the first time, or don't expect much traffic to come your way then a free site might work for you. However, if you plan on having a website that employers will see then a paid site is definitely the way to go. Those who plan on promoting or starting a business through a website should steer clear of free web hosts at all costs. Once your potential customers are run off by the barrage of pop up ads, poor customer service, and insecure payment options you will wish that you had just shelled out the few dollars a month for a paid site.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "What to Expect from Cheap or Free Web hosting" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by WebDesignConferencing.com.

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